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Los Angeles based Ray’s & Stark Bar to unveil new 45-page menu featuring water

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XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
...wat

LA Restaurant Has 45-Page Water Menu, Water Sommelier:

Ray's & Stark Bar, the Patina Group's restaurant and bar located at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, will be adding a 20-item Water Menu to its beverage list next week. Eater LA reports that Ray's & Stark GM and water sommelier Martin Riese created the list which includes waters from ten different countries including Spain, France, Germany, and Canada. The bottles range in size from .75 - 1 liter, and are priced from $8 - $16. The most expensive bottle is Riese's own California-made water 9OH2O. Eater LA had previously reported that 9OH2O retails for $14 per bottle because it's made "in limited editions of 10,000 individually numbered glass bottles."

According to a press release, waters on "LA's most extensive Water Menu" will be for sale by the bottle and also as part of a $12 water tasting menu. Riese is quoted in the press release saying: "We are already accustomed to pairing food with wine or beer, but many people don't know that water is just as important to the entire dining experience." The menu is a booklet that features descriptions of each water varietal, including information on origin, mineral content, and tasting notes.

Full menu at the link. A sample page:

bmOi9OL.jpg


Water sommelier Martin Riese:

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Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
I have no doubt that different waters can pair with different foods (and much like how different wines pair with different foods, it might not quite be so obvious how it works until you teach your palate a little bit). I also agree that many things that seem like "food snob" nonsense actually really do give a great experience if you are open to them.

However, if the aim is to introduce a new cultural norm then I would expect the case to be made for it to be better than "oh yeah, totally buy this" and I would expect more rational decisions--for example, if the $16/litre water is so expensive because of the hand-numbered bottles, why not voluntarily produce it in cheaper bottles or at a higher capacity? If it is true that patrons of the restaurant will grow to understand that the particular water they choose is an essential component of their meal, wouldn't they be better off hooking them at a lower price? Wouldn't you rather everyone at your restaurant buying $3/water and having a better experience than limiting the experience to the most ostentatious diners and having most people have a worse experience? After all, every restaurant has a house red and a house white in recognition that for most people, although it is important to have wine with their meal, they don't typically have the best possible somelier-recommended wine with every meal?

As is it just seems like a not particularly crafty emperor's new clothes situation designed to rob rich socialites of money and taunt the poor.
 
Master crafted water?

lmfao. We masterfully combined two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom to bring you a delectable hydration source that drenches you in Beverly Hills douchebaggery.
 

xelios

Universal Access can be found under System Preferences
I have no doubt that different waters can pair with different foods (and much like how different wines pair with different foods, it might not quite be so obvious how it works until you teach your palate a little bit).

Surely we're talking about flavored/altered water here, right? Because besides that, all I can come up with is something ridiculous like higher chlorine content going well with the halibut.
 

kurbaan

Banned
Master crafted water?

lmfao. We masterfully combined two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom to bring you a delectable hydration source that drenches you in Beverly Hills douchebaggery.

More like we masterfully called a guy to put some drain water into a bottle to get money from you dumbasses.
 
Master crafted water?

lmfao. We masterfully combined two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom to bring you a delectable hydration source that drenches you in Beverly Hills douchebaggery.

Exclusive from the remote spring in an untouched region, buried in a tropical cave for thousands of years...

...Best served in a diamond-encrusted gold chalice to enhance the aromatics of the artisanal blend...

...Presents ~H20~, bottled in small batches, available ONLY for a limited amount of time.

Starting price? $250 per 8 ml bottle.
 

xelios

Universal Access can be found under System Preferences
Exclusive from the remote spring in an untouched region, buried in a tropical cave for thousands of years...

...Best served in a diamond-encrusted gold chalice to enhance the aromatics of the artisanal blend...

...Presents ~H20~, bottled in small batches, available ONLY for a limited amount of time.

Starting price? $250 per 8 ml bottle.

Fine print: Fort Worth municipal water supply
 

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Surely we're talking about flavored/altered water here, right? Because besides that, all I can come up with is something ridiculous like higher chlorine content going well with the halibut.

Heh, you should see the press release:

Apart from the more typical Fiji, S. Pellegrino, and Evian-type varieties, the Water Menu includes many mineral waters that are rarely found in the United States. Ray's & Stark Bar presents the Water Menu in booklet-form, attributing an entire page for each varietal that is complete with tasting notes, mineral content, bottle price, and photos. The menu is organized by country, as Riese notes that terroir affects water in the same way that it affects wine, and thus, flavor profiles can be detected from country to country.
 

mre

Golden Domers are chickenshit!!
A water sommelier? The man that talked his way into that job is a sales and marketing genius whose talents are being wasted as a sommelier.
 
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